Greencastle-Antrim thriving at midway point

 

By Ben Destefan

 

In case you haven't noticed, there is some pretty good basketball being played at Greencastle-Antrim.

 

Tuesday night signaled the midway point of the respective Mid-Penn Colonial Division schedules for the G-A girls' and boys' teams. Both squads have competed in six league games. Both have yet to lose.

 

Without getting ahead of ourselves, the second time around against division foes will presumably be tougher. Then again, if the Blue Devils continue their collective surge this winter, Greencastle could be looking at a Colonial sweep come February.

 

Forget about any questions regarding how the boys' would adapt to first-year head coach Rick Lewis. Through 12 games, the Blue Devils have convincingly emerged as the top team in the Colonial, sitting at 6-0 in the league and 8-4 overall.

 

During its last two division games, G-A blitzed Shippensburg before dominating Waynesboro from start to finish Tuesday night. In other words, the Blue Devils made back-to-back statements against a pair of highly-capable Colonial contenders.

 

Greencastle's only struggles have occurred outside the division, which can be attributed to a beefed-up non-league schedule. Twice the Blue Devils have lost to Northeastern, who is still unbeaten at 13-0. The other defeats came against Central Dauphin - a game in which G-A led by 20 - and Chambersburg in the first game of the year.

 

Thus far, the Blue Devils have put together quite the impressive resume, good enough to currently rank eighth in District 3 Class 5A.

 

Most noticeably, it's been Greencastle's defense which serves as the proverbial spark, utilizing a 2-3 zone to create turnovers and frustrate opponents. Offensively, the workload is being shared, with each of G-A's five starters taking their turn in the spotlight.

 

Casey Hoover leads the team averaging 13.5 points per game, followed by Brandon Stuhler at 11.4. Ian Gelsinger and Bryan Gembe are both averaging more than nine points a game with Ben Freeman continuing to make solid contributions.

 

While Hoover tends to quietly rack up double figures, Stuhler's endless aggressiveness is fun to watch, with the kid never taking a play off. Of late, Gembe is shooting lights out from beyond the arc, culminating in a career-high 25 points against Waynesboro. Should he be able to keep up his recent pace, the Blue Devils are going to be a difficult out down the stretch.

 

A big test awaits on Saturday, as G-A faces Mechanicsburg (10-2) in the Dunks for Drew event hosted by Chambersburg. The Blue Devils then face Delone Catholic next Monday before starting the second half of their Colonial slate Tuesday against James Buchanan.

 

Prior to the season tipping off, there was a sense this might be the year the G-A girls take a step back.

 

Well, so much for that theory.

 

The Blue Devils have started 10-1, including a 6-0 record in Colonial play to maintain their place atop the league.

 

Admittedly, Greencastle has been tested more frequently then in past seasons, especially early on as the younger girls were continuing to find their way. Even so, as evident during the last week, the Blue Devils are beginning to hit their stride.

 

After getting contributions from several girls in a lopsided victory over Shippensburg, G-A steamrolled Northeastern this past Saturday to the tune of 60-18. Then came Tuesday's showdown at Waynesboro, the team many pegged as the Blue Devils' largest threat in the division. A commanding 21-point victory ensued, leaving little doubt as to who still runs the show.

 

The storyline a month ago remains the focus as G-A enters the second half: Can the Blue Devils find help for Jenay Faulkner?

 

Averaging 17 points a game, Faulkner is living up to her Division-I-bound expectations, surpassing 1,500 career points last Friday.

 

Fellow senior Morgan Wagaman has seamlessly stepped in as G-A's No. 2, scoring 14, 9, 18 and 15 points, respectively, in the last four games.

 

What's most encouraging, however, is the progression of Greencastle's role players, including Lydia Crist, Madison Sweitzer, Heidi Schanzenbacher and Lauren Cole.

 

Crist has emerged as a steady option from the outside while Sweitzer and Schanzenbacher have become increasingly involved on both ends. Cole acts as a solid talent off the bench, with Ashley Noblit and McKenna Rakaczewski seeing time. Head coach Mike Rhine has spoken highly of Rakaczewski, who just made her debut after missing basically the first month with an injury.

 

Ultimately, the Blue Devils are still in the process on becoming a team ready for postseason play. But, they're trending in the right direction.